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The Genius and the Goddess
Aldous Huxley Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Genius and the Goddess
"Aldous Huxley, 1894-1963, a contemporary of C.S. Lewis, brother of Sir Julian Huxley, and grandson of the famous T.H. Huxley, took a first in English at Balliol College, Oxford. He is now best known for his science fiction oriented future vision, 'Brave New World'.

In this short novel, a tale of love and desire published in 1955, he displays his outstanding ability in dialogue as two older men recount their relationship with the genius-professor of quantum physics and his goddess-wife, a mere mortal, but a Valkyrie-beauty and of Olympian character. At times the style is of a brilliance which rises to poetry, born of a rare genius which spans the two cultures of the sciences and the humanities with grace, wit, and ease - a performance entirely fitting Huxley's illustrious background and educational achievements. He dances his story between special relativity, the Muses, theology and philosophy, and back to general relativity with unparalleled elan.

The professor, brilliantly portrayed, desperately needs the wife: biologically, emotionally, and socially. She loves him as a matriarch; she meets his every need, bears his children, and is the incarnation of an emotional and philosophical pagan fortitude, which almost makes the ultimately disillusioned and deficient morality of the tale almost right. She is the person who lives the truth, 'Let the dead bury their dead. If you want to live at every moment as it presents itself, you've got to die to every other moment'."

Michael JR Jose, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Genius and the Goddess
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's
Difficult/unusual lover? Yes
How difficult? - very shy/inexperienced
Marriage/Married Yes
Marriage subplot: - inconveniently married while playing footsy
Making a living subplot Yes
Making a living: - office romance among coworkers
Who is... - who is "out of it"
If one lover chases another... - she chases after him
Family focus? Yes
Family, sick/caring for Yes

Main Male Character
Profession/status: - scientist
Age/status: - 20's-30's
How sexual is this person? - squeaky clean virgin
How romantic is this person? - not very romantic
Sex has good effect on him Yes
Sex makes him - mature - a better lover
Sex has bad effect on him Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Female Character
Age/status: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - homemaker
How sexual is this person? - a few sexual encounters
How romantic is this person? - very romantic
effect of sexing - guilty
Sex has bad effect on her Yes
Sex has good effect on her Yes
Effect of sexing - confident
How sensitive is this character? - soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee

Style
Person - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
What % of story is romance related? - 60%
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references
Focus of story - equally on 3 in a l-triangle
How much dialog - mostly dialog
Most similar books to The Genius and the Goddess
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